A Miami Gardens mother found by police on her knees, covered in blood, with a kitchen butcher knife next to her while her baby's father was dead inside their home, is no longer facing a murder charge for her actions.
In March, when officers responded to the scene, 31-year-old Kaity Maldonado spontaneously stated, “I stabbed him at least 13 times.” The man was found in the kitchen lying down in a pool of blood suffering from multiple wounds throughout the body.
A witness told officers that before the attack, she overheard the two fighting. Maldonado allegedly accused the victim of trying to choke her and bite her.
The witness also allegedly overheard the victim asking, "Why are you doing this? Please stop," before Maldonado grabbed a knife. The couple had been in an on-and-off relationship, according to records, and the deceased was the father of their 2-year-old son.
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Maldonado was facing a second-degree murder charge, that if convicted by a future jury, could be sentenced to up to life in prison.
However, records show Miami-Dade State Attorneys did not seek to prosecute the woman for murder and instead dropped her charge.
“She was defending herself because she was being attacked," Chad Piotrowski, the attorney representing Maldonado, told NBC6.
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Piotrowski added he was able to review all the evidence and file a "Stand Your Ground" motion. According to him, state attorneys agreed the murder was in self-defense and dismissed the case.
"Due to the evidence, facts, and expert opinion in this case, the State is unable to overcome the burden of proof that the Defendant did not act in self-defense and had the right to stand her ground," the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office said in a statement. "Therefore, we could not proceed in good faith under the law and the case was no actioned and no charges were filed."
